State board paroles Wah Mee massacre conspirator

BY LEVI PULKKINEN, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Updated 4:33 pm, Friday, October 25, 2013

Wai-Chiu "Tony" Ng is one of three men convicted in Washington's worst spree killing, the Wah-Mee Massacre. Thirteen people were executed in the International District gambling hall in February 1983. He was paroled to an immigration detainer, pending his deportation to China.
Photo: File

Wai-Chiu "Tony" Ng is one of three men convicted in Washington's...

Wai-Chiu "Tony" Ng. This photo was taken November 14, 1984.

Wai-Chiu "Tony" Ng. This photo was taken November 14, 1984.

A police photo of the inside of the Wah Mee gambling club, where 12 men and one woman were killed during a robbery February 1983.
Photo: Associated Press

A police photo of the inside of the Wah Mee gambling club, where 12...

One of thirteen people found dead February 19, 1983 in a private club in Seattle's International District is removed from the scene of the crime.

One of thirteen people found dead February 19, 1983 in a private...

Seattle resident William Hon walks by the pad-locked Wah Mee, the site of one of the worst mass killings in Seattle's history, off King Street in the International District of Seattle, in 2008.
Photo: Mike Kane, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A state board has paroled a Seattle man convicted in Washington's worst mass killing, clearing the way for him to be deported to China.

In a decision issued Friday, a state parole board approved the parole of Tony Ng, one of three men convicted in the Wah Mee Massacre.

Unlike his two co-defendants, Ng was not convicted of murder in the massacre, which saw 13 people killed and another shot on Feb. 19, 1983 during a botched robbery at the Seattle gambling club.

Ng was instead convicted on 13 counts of first-degree robbery and a single count of assault. Sentencing rules in place at the time allowed a state parole board to determine when Ng was fit for release; it did so in a decision released Friday.

In the decision, the state's Indeterminate Sentence Review Board described Ng as a “model prisoner” and allowed him to be moved to immigration detention pending his deportation to China. The King County Prosecutor’s Office and many of those touched by the killings fought against Ng's release.

The notorious killing saw two other men -- Kwan Fai "Willie" Mak and Benjamin Ng -- hogtie, rob and execute 13 people at the International District gambling parlor. Mak and Benjamin Ng were ultimately sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Tony Ng was charged in the murders, but claimed he had been forced to participate in the massacre by Mak. While prosecutors now say that defense shouldn’t have been put to the jury, jurors found in Ng’s favor and convicted him only of robbery.

“The Wah-Mee massacre stands as the worst mass murder in Seattle history,” King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg said in a statement, “and it seems incomprehensible that one of the participants will soon be free.”

“There is little doubt that Tony Ng caught some breaks in his favor that he did not deserve, but the verdict of the jury set in motion the possibility of his eventual release,” Satterberg concluded.

Tony Ng was imprisoned under a parole-based sentencing scheme since replaced with definitive sentences. Under the older system, the state parole board was left to decide when Ng should be released.

Had Ng been convicted under current Washington law, he would have been sentenced to a specific period of time. A King County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman noted the firearm enhancements alone would carry a 70-year term.

Ng's time in prison has been unremarkable -- he received only one serious infraction during his 28 years locked up.

Currently, Ng serves as a teacher’s aide in a drafting class, and has been helping to support an International District children’s program by making and selling elaborate origami sculptures. Evaluators deemed him a low risk to reoffend.

In his most recent interview before the review board, Ng admitted he failed to take several opportunities to stop the massacre before it occurred. He apologized for his role in the killings.

Writing for the board, the review board found that Ng is fully rehabilitated and due for release by the standards set in state law.

“The Wah Mee massacre was horrific and its impact on the Chinese-American community and other citizens in Seattle and beyond continues to reverberate to this day,” board members said in the decision. “It remains the worst mass murder in Washington State history. …

“There is no question that Mr. Ng could and should have behaved differently at the time leading up to and during the robbery and murders at the Wah Mee Club. … Unfortunately, Mr. Ng cannot go back in history to change what happened and the Board has to base its decision on whether he meets the statutory criteria for parole and if he presents a risk to public safety.”

The board's decision, made Thursday and released late Friday, would allow for Ng to be returned to state custody if he is freed by immigration authorities.

Ng is expected to be detained at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility pending his deportation to China.